living artfully

10 things

On the tenth of every month, Shimelle Laine invites bloggers to share ten things. Doesn't matter the topic, as long as it's ten things. This month, here are my 10 favorite ways to celebrate fall.

1.  Drinking pumpkin spice lattes. There is a reason everyone in my Facebook newsfeed is talking about them; they really are that good. They came to the Starbucks in my area on September 1st, and I've already enjoyed a pumpkin spice latte twice. A tip for those of you who don't like super sweet drinks. I order my grande PSL non-fat, no whip, 2 pump. Using skim milk and having less syrup helps the drink still taste more like coffee without overdosing on sweetness. 


2. Baking... especially if it includes pumpkin. I absolutely love pumpkin paired with warm fall spices. These pumpkin scones with cinnamon ginger glaze are a favorite. Pumpkin ginger buttermilk bundt cake has been known to appear at Thanksgiving. And I prefer my pumpkin brownies with a cream cheese swirl over the traditional chocolate.


3. Taking a fall color walk. Every year since we started dating, Steve and I have a tradition to hike up Holy Hill to see the leaves turning colors. 

4. Having crockpot chili for days and days. We've tweaked over the years until reaching a great recipe that's complex and spicy. It includes a fresh jalapeno from our garden, beer and bacon. 

5. Lighting pumpkin and fall-scented candles. I love when it's finally cool enough to light candles. I don't like when candles are too syrupy-sweet, so for me Leaves and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath & Body Works are perfection. 


6. Hitting the roadside farmer's stand for apples and fresh cider. Nothing you can buy at the grocery store compares to an ice-cold glass of fresh local apple cider.


7. Having cool-weather bonfires with s'mores. I used to only associate bonfires with the summer, but I think my favorite are actually in the fall when you can cozy up to the fire for warmth. Plus s'mores?! Perfection.

8. Wearing scarves and knee-high leather boots. I'm over my maxi dresses and am ready to pull on my boots!

9. Making crockpot caramel for apples. It's soo easy and addictive. Just unwrap and throw into your crockpot a 14 ounce package of caramels (such as Brach's). Add 2/3 cup heavy cream, set to low, cover and let the caramels melt for about an hour. Then add 1/2 cup mini marshmallows and 3 teaspoons rum. Stir well, cover, and let melt for another 30 minutes. I love to drizzle this onto sliced apples... or eat by the spoonful!


10. Dressing up for Halloween. For the last five years we've gone to a costume party for Halloween, and have done a group costume with the same friends. Any guesses what we're going as this year?

You can visit more bloggers sharing their ten things by clicking here.

hugs, sharyn

currently...

listening to baby Jude's tiny little wimper as he falls asleep, but isn't sure he wants to

eating a bowl of my husband's delicious spicy turkey chili - the first of the fall season 

drinking yet another oversized glass of ice water

wearing pajamas... I may have changed into them at 3pm 

feeling creatively energized but physically exhausted 

wanting to find the right way to capture time and live with more intention

needing sleep. yes, more sleep, please.

thinking about unfinished projects 

enjoying this new season in my life and the wonderful new people it has welcomed in 

hugs, sharyn 

hello.

 
hello.

My name is Sharyn. You might remember me. I used to blog here. a lot.

But then I lost my creative spark. No blogging. No scrapbooking. You know - a rut. But I think I've snapped out of it :)

I'm about a zillion layouts behind on my scrapbooking, so I plan to be back from time-to-time as I have new pages to share. And maybe a cupcake or two! See you again soon!

hugs, sharyn

reader poll

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is the sense of community. I love to exchange inspiration and support with the bloggers in my Google Reader. It's mind-boggling to think about how many blogs are out there, so whether you visit only briefly or come by regularly it really means a lot to me. I'd love to know more about you and your reading habits. Would love for you to take my little poll below...

[ Survey Closed]

Thank you for taking my survey! If you have any other feedback or would like to introduce yourself more in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!

hugs, sharyn

unfinished projects

Raise your hand if you have unfinished scrapbooking projects. I'm over here, throwing both hands up in the air!

I think most crafters have unfinished layouts and projects... and that this can be an unfortunate source of guilt or embarrassment. It's not always fun to admit that you didn't complete a class or finish an album you started.

When I recently shared my completed December album, some of you shared that you weren't able to complete yours. I may have finished this project, but I have my own list of old projects that aren't quite done yet. Like my Project 365 from 2010. I started using Becky Higgins' Project Life kit, but didn't like the format as much as I had expected. At first I felt guilty for giving up on the album, especially because the kit wasn't cheap. But I've moved on from worrying about the unused kit and have decided on a different digital format for the photos from my 365. It will be a book that I can print through a printer like Shutterfly, and now it's something I can actually finish.

 

And my Week in the Life album from 2010. Well, it's not even close to being done. Turns out I'm not crazy about editing and resizing that many photos. When Ali Edwards announced earlier this week that she'll be repeating the project this summer, I honestly felt a little panic. But wait, I'm not done yet!! How can we be starting again?! Momentary panic aside, I realized it's so not a big deal. I love the album and want to finish it, so I will pick up bits and pieces when I'm feeling inspired to. When I look back on it years from now, it's not going to matter how quickly I finished the album.

 

 

There's also the high school album I want to make, inspired by Cathy Zielske's Me: The Abridged Version class. Paper has been purchased and I've started my journaling. And, well, that's it. As for classes, those are sometimes hard to finish, too. I signed up for Shimelle's True Stories class and never managed to participate. Thank goodness for "forever access!"

Sometimes a project takes a while; that's perfectly okay. As long as it's still something you want to do, take your time! If you're absolutely dreading the crafting project, maybe it's time to rethink if it's something you even want to complete. Rachel from Small Notebook recently shared a thought-provoking post on breaking  up with old hobbies and projects. The lesson: just because you started it, you don't have to finish it. It's a great read.

What are your thoughts on unfinished projects?

hugs, sharyn

100th post - 100 things about me

Wow, 100 posts. When I started this blog in June 2009, I had no idea how much I would learn and connect with others through blogging. It's been such a wonderful surprise and an outlet for my thoughts and creativity.

If I had to pinpoint my growth as a blogger, it was definitely Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class. My classmates are an amazing group of women and I am so delighted and honored when they visit and comment. Thank you for your friendship, encouragement, and inspiration!

I came across a fun list of 100 questions to answer, to mark my 100th post...

001. Real Name: Sharyn
002. Nickname(s): Karen, Cardshark
003. Age: 28
004. Horoscope: Cancer
005. Male or Female: Female
006. Elementary: Atonement Lutheran
007. Middle School: North Middle School
008. High School: Menomonee Falls
009. College: UW-Milwaukee
010. Hair color: Brown
011. Long or Short: Medium
012. Loud or Quiet: Quiet
013. Sweats or Jeans: I don't even own sweats
014. Phone or Camera: Camera; I don't talk much on the phone
015. Health Freak: Not really
016. Drink or Smoke: Occasional drinks with friends, definitely no smoking
017. Do you have a crush on someone: Of course, my husband!
018. Eat or Drink: We love to eat
019. Piercings: Ears
020. Tattoos: One, on my foot
021. Social or Anti-Social: A social homebody
022. Righty or lefty: Righty
023. First piercing: Ears
024. First relationship: 2nd Grade, if that counts ;)
025. First Best Friend: Sarah
026. First Award: Probably something for volleyball or dance
027. First Kiss: James
028. First Pet: A goldfish I named Whitney Houston
029. First Big Vacation: Disney World
030. First Love at first sight: My hubby, Steve
031. First Big Birthday: Door County @25 with Steve
032. First Surgery: None
033. First sport you joined: Cheerleading

This or That
034. Orange or apple juice: Orange
035. Rock or rap: Rock
036. Country or metal: I seriously dislike both
037. Salty or sweet: Salty (it's my weakness!)
038. Coffee or tea: Coffee
039. Night or day: Day
040. Sun or moon: Sun
041. TV or Internet: Internet
042. Playstation or Xbox: Neither
043. Kiss or hug: Both
044. Pepsi or Coke: Diet Coke, my favorite!
045. Wine or beer: We love wine
046. Fall or spring: Fall
047. Limewire or iTunes: iTunes
048. Early or late: If not on time, than late
049. Troublemaker or Peacemaker: Peacemaker
050. Sensitive or Loud: Sensitive

Currently
051. Eating: Nope
052. Drinking: Stone Creek coffee
053. Excitement level: High
054. I’m about to: Take Rocco for a walk
055. Listening to: Florence + The Machine
056. Plan for today: Fish fry @ Water Buffalo with Bob and Lindsey
057. Waiting for: My Studio Calico kit to arrive
058. Wearing: Black pants, grey/blue shirt, and wrap top
059. Wearing glasses or contacts: Glasses
060. Perfume/cologne: Calvin Klein Euphoria
061. Thinking of someone: Family and friends
062. Want kids?: One day
063. Want to get married?: I'm happily married
064. When?: December 2007
065. How many kids do you want: Two
066. Any names on the mind: Grey, Andrew, Audrey, Brooklyn
067. What did you want to be when you were little: A teacher
068. Career: Human Resources / Recruiting
069. Mellow future or wild: Mellow
070. Something you would never try: Jumping out of a plane
071. Something you want to try: Travel to Canada and Europe with Steve
072. Kissed a stranger: No
073. Broken a bone: Both wrists at the same time!
074. Ran away from home: Yes, for a few hours when I was like 8
075. Been in a car accident: A few, thankfully nothing serious
076. Lived in a different state: Just Wisconsin
077. Traveled out of the country: To Europe in high school... I need to go back!
078. Last time you traveled out of town: Hmm, I think it was this past fall, a mini day-trip to the nearest Archiver's
079. Related to anyone famous: Nope
080. Resemble anyone famous: Not exactly, but I have been told I look like Zooey Deschanel

Favorites
081. Favorite color: Brown
082. Favorite movie: "Garden State"
083. Favorite book: "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy (and really, anything written by Margaret Atwood)
084. Favorite style of music: indie rock / indie folk
085. Favorite band: Joshua Radin
086. Favorite TV show: I only watch about 4 shows... Dexter, Grey's Anatomy, So You Think You Can Dance, and American Idol
087. Favorite store: Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters
088. Favorite magazine: Real Simple
089: Favorite hobby: Scrapbooking, of course ;)
090: Favorite cuisine: Mexican

Do you believe in
091. Yourself: Usually
092. Miracles: Yes
093. Angels: I'm not sure
094. Love at first sight: Absolutely
095. Heaven: Yes
096. Santa Claus: No, but I like the tradition
097. Tooth Fairy: No
098. Ghosts: Not sure

Answer Truthfully
099. Is there 1 person you want to be with right now?: Yes, my hubby!
100. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life now?: Absolutely


Thanks for joining me for the first 100! I'll be back later this weekend with some new layouts :)

 

wishing

Today, instead of snow...

 


I'm wishing for rain...

 

 
  
 
(photo cred 1, 2, 3, 4)

I'm ready for spring! How's the weather by you?? 

 

welcoming 2010

It's that time when we are reflecting on the past year and dreaming up plans for the next. Truly, one of the great highlights for me was the support and encouragement from all you lovely readers. You've made blogging a joy and I can't offer enough thanks for the inspiration and motivation you've given me. I look forward to continuing to visit your blogs in 2010!

 

For our little family, the highlight of the year was definitely our pug, Rocco. He's been with us now for just over 4 months; he's completely settled in and makes us laugh every day. The layout above is the 2009 recap layout I shared with my family and tells of a few more highlights from this year. My sisters-in-law are both scrapbookers, so we exchange recap layouts at Christmas to place in family albums. The design is simple because I make 5 copies, to include myself and the moms too, but of course it's the words and photos that really matter.

After making this layout, I'm completely in a 2010 mindframe. I am so excited about the possibilities for next year, all the things I want to learn and try. I'm not big on the idea of setting resolutions (the connotation of failed and broken resolutions, in particular). But I do have a few intentions for 2010...

Photography: complete a Project 365 with an "every day life" focus and post to Flickr

Photo-editing: Learn Photoshop Elements 8.0

Reading: read at least 1 novel per month and continue reading off the Booker Prize list

Online learning: complete Design Your Life and Library of Memories (and implement an organization and storage process for our digital and print photos)... maybe other classes, too!

Scrapbooking: participate in challenges and page calls at Studio Calico, Scrapbook Trends, Ella Publishing, Project 12, and Scrapbooks Etc.

Blogging: continue learning about Typepad... I made a few updates for the new year, but would like to figure out more about how to customize and use CSS.


If you are reflecting on the new year and are looking for a good source of ideas and inspiration, please check out Lee's blog: Embrace Life. Her writing and ideas really helped me to wrap my arms around my 2010 thoughts!

Are you set on your 2010 goals and resolutions??

  

hi, i'm times new roman

I recognize that not everyone out there loves fonts as much as I do.  But for you like-minded folk, I just took the most fun "what font are you" quiz ever! And apparently I am... 

Times New Roman
Some call you timeless - others call you a snob. Either way, you're a class act all around. Just don't take yourself too seriously.

Oh I do love a good, timeless, serif font! Sounds like me... well, except hopefully you don't think I'm snobby!

Thanks to Rachel for the link (who, by the way, has a supercute blog you should check out). If you take the quiz, I'd love to hear what font you are, too :)

head + heart + soul

I'm a lucky girl. No doubt about it. Next month I will be celebrating an amazing two years with my kind and funny and handsome husband. Looking back, our wedding day was truly one of the happiest days of my life.

Today, the prompt for Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class is to blog about an amazing day from your past, considering what you will share and what will be hidden. I appreciate this prompt because last month I finished our wedding scrapbook - and even shared a few pages from the album here.

Today's prompt made me realize that my wedding album isn't especially personal or private. I carefully preserved as many of the details as I could remember... and without giving it much consideration, I left out most of the feelings and emotions, thinking those would never fade from our memory.

I am thankful that the timing is just right. Before our anniversary next month, I'd love to find a way to record some of our special thoughts and emotions about our wedding day. Maybe I'll add another page to the book? Create a hidden pocket on my final page? Or a separate mini book, just for me and my hubby?  I'd love to hear your ideas, too!

There's a quote I've fallen in love with, that was recently shared with us in Ali Edwards' "Yesterday and Today" class...

The greatest stories touch on the sacred - that moment when head and heart and soul combine.   Jane Yolen

I want my scrapbooking projects to have these elements. But our blogs may not always be the right place for all the intimate details of our greatest stories. I think there can be hints while maintaining privacy and this is what I'll be striving for. I appreciate this challenge to think about what "belongs" on our blogs and what "belongs" in our albums.